VFTF1

I just remembered- I might have a new favorite character who emerges in episode 5! Namely the Zendradi fellow with with the glasses... the older man who is most amazed by Ranka's talent and runs up to her after she's finished singing, calling to her. We don't know who he is, what he wants... but I'm guessing he wants to promote her! And good! I already like him VFTF1

I actually like the premise of Southern Cross. I remember it was probably my favorite RPG. But this is because I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic settings. If mecha were issued - I would buy! VFTF1

I'll admit I'm not posting on this topic not because I'm not interested but because I already have the complete sound track on my laptop and have often turned Lyn Mynmey on for my girlfriend who likes it a lot - her favorite is the jazz bit VFTF1

Well - just watched the clip on Hisstank... and that actually looks good - insofar as I didn't see a blue screen being filmed for fifteen minutes and then some guy name d Ed telling me that him and Larry have been working on CGI cars being tossed in the sky for the last ten years.... Also - I guess they really are going all out to make GI Joe an international brand - which makes sense, given that with a movie like this, you can't just call it GI Joe in the USA and re-brand it as Action Force elsewhere... I am curious how they balance out the politics... although if they stick to universal rights as coincidentially happening to be what America stands for then I think it could gain broad sympathy rather then get laughed at by most folks... The real key will be how they treat COBRA. Who will Cobra be? What will be their motivation? If they go the way of Ironman - and show how the military industrial complex, seemingly "necessary" for the defense of freedom, actually just exists to perpetuate war - and that ultimately there is no systemic solution to the problem of evil, but rather the heroism of individuals making the right choice in tough circumstances is all we can hope for - then it'll be a winner. I guess what I'm getting at is if they are intent on making GI Joe realistic - which appears to be the case- and international - aka appealing to a global audience rather than "merely" nationalist/American - then it's a challenging job and will be interesting to see how they handle this... The problem is - I always admired most of Cobra - I didn't see them as terrorists. Zamot and Tomax were nice guys who went into business. Destro and the Baroness were fabulous aristocrats with noble family traditions. Heck - I even felt sympathy for Major Bludd, what with the bad eye, and the squeeky voice. Dr. Mindbender was a great scientist and a wonderfully Faustian character. The Dreadknocks were the ultimate badasses and counter-cultural rugged individualistic rough riding icons. GI Joes on the other hand usually boiled down to being boy scouts. In the comic books - the Joes were fleshed out a bit better - but as I mentioned before - I mainly enjoyed the Joes as people who were hurt by the government and the entire shamble of Vietnam - who couldn't turn back from their path as warriors/hunters/etc and who had old scores to settle. Cobra Commander as a bitter and resentful little man determined to stick it to the system was also spot on... The point here is that COBRA is not really a terrorist organization as much as it is a shaddy business organization - kind of like the mob. They really never used terrorist tactics in GI Joe. I mean -seriously - Cobra used standard 4th Generation warfare tactics. They would face GI Joe with conventional forces and usually stroll around in full regala rather than mixing in with the civilian population as is the wont of terrorists. If anything, Cobra might have financed or armed terrorist groups as a result of their arms dealings, or worked with them smuggling drugs and the like... But of course you could just legalize drugs and there would be no multi-million dollar illegal drug cartels with ties to terrorists - so I hope Cobra isn't shown as the evil drug smuggling organization... The only thing I can think of that would be very good is if COBRA is actually shown to be PART OF the government - that is - part of the system that GI Joe is. It would be really cool if GI Joe has to fight its' own government - cleanse its own base - again... The Baroness being chased in Prague...an SUV in Prague...well - at least she's easy to spot! "Which SUV sir??!!?" "The only one in the whole damn country man!" Although it's "Paris"...oh boy...I dunno... still got a bad vibe about this. To boot - the writers have a HUGE CHALLENGE HERE. Can they pull of a credible story? VFTF1

I just cancelled my preorders for Animated... ultimately - despite the nice effort - I'm going to stick to G1. EDIT: That and I've decided to get the whole Gundam 00 collection instead ! (HG) VFTF1

I have the Full Cloth version and it's still small, only it has a big cloth cape ...that's not cloth...but you get the point. Personally Crossbone is one of my favorite Gundams. I love the head sculpt, and the "crossbones" on the back which turn into the shuttle are a great touch. I like the boosters. It's a bit of a "generic" Gundam - which I personally don't like - but it'll do. I doubt there's a difference- at least not as big as between Endless Waltz custom wing and Kai - where the latter transformed into a birdy looking mech... VFTF1

Ok. Here's my take on this... but first- a disclaimer: I am not a very big GI Joe fan. I do like the action adventure aspect - but I find much of the premise unbelievable - FAR MORE unbelievable than alien transforming robots from another planet (seriously). But I won't dwell on that... unless someone wants me to... On to the Joes: 1. One of the nice things about the cartoon from the 80s was that each Joe looked differently, and their look fit their function. I know that in "real" military outfits there is greater homogeneity in terms of how one looks - but I still would have prefered, if you're doing an outlandish film like GI Joe - be outlandish! Dress the joes up in differntiated uniforms. Most of the Joes look generic. The black uniform works on Snake Eyes - but don't make all the Joes look like Snake Eyes without the Mask.... 2. This is NOT CAPTAIN POWER!! You guys remember Captain Power, don't you? Or better yet - PHOTON! Yes - PHOTON!! (how can you forget this gem??) The GI Joes look like they should be in Photon. The only Joe who looks like a Joe is Hawk. Sure - he looks kich, he looks banal, he looks ridiculous, he looks like he must have had to drink a lot of booze to agree to play a part in this movie - but he LOOKS LIKE HAWK - GOOD! The others look like they're going to play Lazer Tag (Photon!) or "Power on!" with Captain Power. Storm Shadow looks great. I hope this is a movie about the personalities behind the Joes rather than a generic Yo Joe vs. COBRA! two hour episode - because honestly it was Snake Eye's past in Vietnam and the whole tangled web of pain and government lies that made GI Joe (the comic book from Marvel) half decent and half interesting... The cartoon was joke (except when Zartan formed that rock band- We're Cold Slither you'll be joining us soon! A band of Vipers playin' our tune! The only redeeming feature of GI Joe's counter-rock band was that it had skin tight dressed chicks in it - but let's face it - Scarlet and her ladies were no match for Zartan - heck - they lost to JEM even! (Jem is amazing Je-eem!) If this movie takes itself somewhat lightly and surprises us with great character development for the like of Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Destro and the like - it'll be good. If it's just a romp round of laser tag - it'll be bad. Really interested in seeing how they pursue this... VFTF1

Actually I don't know if Yamato should do this. Wouldn't the weight of the magnets make the wings sag? They're already weighed down enough by the complex transformation, and then the rockets/bombs themselves - I would imagine these magnets would only increase sag-pressure. Yamato clearly used and uses Magnets in their stuff when appropriate. The SVF-51 nosecone, and the Zero's fast packs to name a few. But I don't know whether in the long run this magnet-in-the-wing won't sag it... and maybe that's why Yamato doesn't do stuff like that. VFTF1

You might be right - but I see no point in purposefully being rough with my Yamato figures just to prove how durable they are. VFTF1

I generally would love some destroids - but as I have the Quud Rau Miria 1/60 from Yamato - I have to say I'm UNDRwelmed by it. First: 1) If you're going to charge a hundred bucks - how about making Miria/the pilot poseable - at least give it the same love that Bumblegum Crisis chick got. 2) How about removable missiles like on GBP armor? 3) How about legs that are on ratchet joints - since the Quud is top-heavy and ball joins just don't reall cut it 4) How about a bit more "mechanics?" I guess my complaint is that since it's just a non-variable figure it should have the poseability of a Revoltech, not to mention it should be sculpted more dynamically. It's a decent enough figure - but I hope the upcoming Destroids will either be cheaper or at least loaded with more goody features... Oh - and definitely a nice Klan Klan full scale poseable figure - in fact- how about three Meltran ladies who are poseable? VFTF1

I am always impressed with people who can say, in two sentences, what it takes me five pages to say VFTF1

I'd so buy that is she had feet .... But seriously - Yes- artistically that is a very very very good sculpt! Congrats. But it also goes to the heart of the point I'm trying to make with Klan Klan - she has had no character development - she's just a poster girl with a one trick pony gimmick (Miclonized Loli). You can see it in the sculpt - the sculpt just says "I'm Klan Klan! A fifty foot gorgeous playbunny!" - nothing else. And that's not a criticism leveled at the sculpt or its' maker - because the maker had nothing else to go off f from the anime then just that simple character archetype that has formed for her. VFTF1

I don't mind waiting for the MF figures. Gives me time to get some 1/60 Yammie goodness in there MF can come out for Christmas or even 2009 new years and it'll be good. Then I can say this: "I resolve to stop buying expensive Yamato Valykries this year"... and I can start buying expensive BANDAI valkyries As to PVCs... well - once bought up some of the Takara Transformer Mega PVCs and was very impresed with them - still prefer them to Revoltech actually (but that's only because I prefer the anime design to the Dreamwave design)... I did have visions though - of CHUNKY MONKEY VF-25S!!! Can you imagine it?? A chunky Monky VF-25?? There would be no hip bars - obviously - but the thing would be chunky and munky an Bandai...and a VF-25... and then I'd buy it On the other hand - I have visions of Yamato's SV-51 and YF-19 since the VF-25 is close to both... I really wonder what Bandai will come up with? I noticed in the anime that the head is not under the plane but sit like the YF-19 head behind the fuselage. This will probably make transformation a lot simpler.... But what I'd REALLY love is some darned people figures. Give me Ranka Chan with Maguro Man accesories! VFTF1

Har har Actually - on this subject- I was amazed recently by one thing: Even though the 1/48s are "perfect trransformation"...they do KIND OF cheat... Namely - turns out it is possible to remove the legs. This is actually a very sensible thing to do on Yamato's part - since the swing bar is so delicate, and it wouldn't be a good idea - for example - to let it tangle with the legs attached while you're transforming the main body (I just always transform it on a flat surface or on my laps so the swing bar doesn't dangle) -- but you can also cheat - and just remove the legs... So...does this mean that the 1/48s are actually...just 1/60 original runs in disguise? And do the 1/60 new versions have removable legs? In the same sense as 1/48 has removable legs? VFTF1

I'm passing on the chunky. I prefer to support Yamato because I prefer perfect transformation high end merchandise and I believe Yamato will ultimately come through with the QC issue. I don't - by any stretch of the imagination - begrudge people buying the chunky through Toynami or whatever - it's all good. But I just personally think the chunky is over-priced. It costs almost as much as a new Yamato 1/60. Well that either means the Yamato 1/60 is amazingly cheap or that the chunky is marked up - perhaps for "collector value?" Again - I don't begrudge this slightly high price - since I buy G1 reissue Transformers for equally "inflated prices" - and I always say that the boxes are sturdy and great, the kind you can stick the figure in so it won't get worn out by the environment and stuff... And I agree there is a certain positive aspect to the chunkies - their durability... but I am convinved that Yamato will end up finally giving us a high end, durable, perfect transformation Valkyrie. Takara has done it with Masterpiece - the Prime and the Seekers are perfect. Megatron is a tad on the "touch me delicately or I will break" side - but he is actually quite durable all things considered. Yamato has been making great progress and I think their effort is comendable. I'm the type of buyer who WILL pump lots of money into a company that is making a comendable effort - even if they get a few things wrong sometimes; because I want to support the innovation and the attempt at making the perfect product. Anyways - chunkys retailing at 9000 yen are over-priced IMO. they should be going for max 7000 yen - although 5,400 retail Yen would be more appropriate (aka the price of the newly reissued Binaltech line). VFTF1

I have my 1/48 Roy VF-1S dressed up in GBP. I didn't want to put Hikaru in there either, since I love teh 1J in fighter mode best. VFTF1

Nooo!!! Ranka is loosing AGAIN!!! I feel like Terrorsaur in season one of Beast Wars...I just want to screeeeeeech!!! No matter what I try - I keep loosing!! Curse you cruel world! VFTF1

See - the problem is that I only have the non-extended version of Episode 1 on my laptop. I didn't even KNOW there was a longer version with this key sceen and that Sheryl lost her dress and what not - so the entire "I must find Alto the acrobat!" thread of the plot that started in episode 2 was completely bizarre for me I've had to work backwards to make sense of it. VFTF1

"puts up with is an understatement" - I mean; I hope Cathy is actually attracted to him at least since she's sleeping with him! You can "put up" with someone for being rude, obnoxious, having bad breath - but I think "oh, he wants to sleep with me again - oh well, I'll put up with it!" is reaaally stretching it:) But on this note: it is a valid question to raise - I mean...what does she see in him? I'm thinking Cathy is comparing Leon to Ozma - they're diametrically opposed. Leon is a suck up; but he's also a realist - and women go for the "I'll give you security" type more than the passionate guy who because of his passion is always in danger and potentially endangering his loved ones. And Cathy is no Misa Hayese in terms of psychological strength. I mean - she has MAJOR wobbly knees. Misa was willing to LITERALLY die in Boldoza's hands and would have if Hikaru hadn't volunteered to kiss her. Cathy feints when the Vajra in the fish tank wakes up. So maybe - maybe she really is sheltered and is accustomed to the perks of her dad's power and privilage, but doesn't actually want to be anywhere near real danger. She'd rather go after kids like Alto than take any assignments with real risk attached to them. I imagine this type of woman was atttracted to the good looking and rugged Ozma - but at the same time hoped that Ozma would "get out of the field" - take a military job as a high ranking desk jocky and go to high flung parties to swagger and be "official like." When it turned out Ozma wanted to be with the grunts instead of being a REMF - she dumped him for a man like Leon - a guy who has the uniform and stature but is far from the danger. That and Cathy was obviously jealous of little baby Ranka - and that Ozma was so caring for her..... Cathy sucks. Weak woman. VFTF1

Crud. This poll is biased because I think that people who vote for Sara or Ranka would sooner vote for Misa than for Minmey. The result is that the Ranka/Sara/Misa vote is split and Minmey comes out on top Shouldn't we therefore have TWO votes? First an initial round of voting. Then the two girls who win the initial round go on to the final round. Because surely some of us - like me - would have voted for Misa if we'd known that MINMEY was going to be the winner because we voted for a different albeit unlikely contender (Ranka in my case). I'd sooner change my vote to Misa just to make sure Minmey didn't win VFTF1

Here's another reason: Isn't it obvious? We watch Macross because it's what we're meant to do VFTF1

I actually still don't understand that. Breast implants are surely not illegal? They meant cyber-ship implants or something of the sort? no? Help. Explain - enlighten me please VFTF1

Well - I think it really goes to what one believes to constitute "cockiness." That suave voice and attitude - to me - communicate that he has a certain distance towards his circumstances. Cockyness on the other hand is...Kakizake "Lemme at 'em boss!" VFTF1

I personally think you would be wasting a hundred bucks on a chunky, when you can have a Yammie for not too much more. With all due respect to the Chunky - it's just not that good. My advice would be to FORGET ABOUT THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN BUDGET ANYTHING. Throw it out the window. The 1/48 is very durable - true - but if you've never handled a Yamato figure before - there's a 25% chance you'll break it anyways . Therefore expect to be having to buy a new one - because more often then not - the breakage happens because you pushed and pulled where you shouldn't have. I always assume that 1/4 of what I get from Yamato will break - and it does - and I buy a new one - and it doesn't break. The QC issues are annoying - but as some have said, Yamato is working on them. It shows with the SV-51, the YF-19 - and in fairness the 1/48 is a very good plane QC wise. I think your best option would be to sell half your transformers collection - and if you don't have stuff like that to sell, then try maybe hocking your kidney on ebay. If all else fails - you can always sell yourself into slavery or sell your kidney or something VFTF1

I didn't know about this promise of Kawamori's either - but if that's the case then I'm happy about it Although I must admit that the "mystery" of Macross is appealing... but he's not going to tie up ALL the nots - is he? I mean...gasp...!.... are we... going to find out about Misa and Hikaru?? VFTF1